Seasons of Love
by Lorelai Danes
Summary: It's been almost a year since the crash and Rory's life has never quite returned to normal. She then turns bitter in return. L/L and R/J
1. Rory

Seasons of Love  
  
A/N - Kind of a weird, future fic. My first real attempt at doing Rory, so please be gentle with those reviews of yours! :)  
  
Important Information  
  
-Takes place during the following December, after "Teach Me Tonight". All the episodes following the accident did not happen in this story, but the accident DID happen. "Teach Me Tonight" takes place, I'm guessing, around April/May-ish so just imagine the following winter, about eight months after the crash. Luke and Lorelai have not completely made up, yet.  
  
Pairing - L/L and R/J  
  
A/N - Song AND fic are both told from Rory's POV.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
  
  
Seasons of Love  
  
  
  
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes,  
  
Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear.  
  
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes,  
  
How do you measure- measure a year?  
  
In daylights, in sunsets?  
  
In midnights, in cups of coffee?  
  
In inches, in miles?  
  
In laughter, in strife?  
  
In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes  
  
How do you measure a year in your life?  
  
  
  
The new year is approaching quickly. Next week, to be exact. My mother is now thirty-four years old and little old me, a senior at Chilton. I still cannot bring myself to believe that just one measly year ago, things were normal. Okay, maybe not 'normal' per se, considering this is Stars Hollow, but as normal as life here could possibly get. I haven't seen Jess since the crash last year, and, sadly, Luke and my mother had never quite been the same ever again. Oh, sure, they talk once in a while, but it's never more then a few insignificant words of monotony. I miss my old life. Things are so complicated now. Dean and I were also never the same since the accident and I'm sad about that, but who really cares now, we broke up months ago. I miss Dean, I miss Jess and I miss Luke. I'm getting very depressed and I don't know how much longer I can take it. The forecast in my mind for the new year does not look happy at all.  
  
"Rory?" My mom called me from her bedroom, where she was getting ready for work.  
  
"Yeah?" I answered blandly, walking into her room.  
  
"Pink or Blue?" She asked me, holding up two silk blouses.  
  
"Blue." I shrugged. "They're both nice." I told her and plopped onto her bed.  
  
"Good choice." She smiled at me warmly.  
  
"What's the occasion?"  
  
Her eyes lit up as she took a seat beside me. "I'm going out with Mike again tonight." She giggled happily.  
  
I just nodded my head, and when she turned away to go apply her make-up in the bathroom, I rolled my eyes. Mike. There is not one person I despise more in this world then that boring accountant she has for a boyfriend. He treats me like I'm just some unfortunate baggage that goes along with my mother's company, and I do not like having to leave the house every single weekend just because he wants to seduce my mother. Jeez, get a room. Whenever they come back to the house after their dates, he would take me aside and ask me to leave. Can you believe that? But, yet, when my mom is around, he acts like there is no one he would rather spend time with then me. Ugh, I really don't like that guy.  
  
"I went with the pink." My mom said, while walking back over to me.  
  
"You look good, can we go get coffee now?" I asked droopily, while forcing my tired body off of the bed. "I'm thirsty."  
  
"Me too. Ooh, let's check out that new coffeehouse by your school. You know, the one that has the humungous cup of coffee on the roof?"  
  
"I want Luke's coffee." I snapped, a little more harshly the I had intended to say it. "Listen, if you wanna go to that place in Hartford, then go, I'm not stopping you, but I'm going to Luke's." I got up and walked away from my mother, then turned around. "You can come if you want to." I said numbly and ran down the stairs, roughly grabbing my coat off of the banister. I started for the door, but didn't leave. I waited for my mother to come down. Maybe she'll come with me, I thought. Yeah, sure. She never came, so I just left without saying good-bye to her.  
  
Yeah, Chilton was horrible as usual. My grades have maintained their regular good status, even though my lack of enthusiasm has gotten noticeably worse. I just don't care anymore. I really want this year to be over as soon as possible. I went over to see Lane, but she was out with some of her friends from the cheerleading squad. As I walked down her driveway, I saw tears fall to the ground. Were those coming out of my eyes? I asked myself this, then brought my fingers up to my eyes and felt water. Yes, indeed they were. I needed to talk to someone, but no one was there. I eyed the diner across the street and thought about maybe talking to some coffee. Before I realized what I was doing, I found myself at the counter, looking around for Luke. I never went for coffee that morning when I told my mom I was going to, but she would never know I lied, it's not like she talks to Luke, anyway. Actually, it has been almost a month since I've actually talked to him. I saw him appear around the counter, looking sad and lonley...a lot like me.  
  
"Hey, Luke." I smiled up at him warmly.  
  
He looked happy to see me. Phew. I'm glad.  
  
A grin appeared on his face as he came over nearer to me.  
  
"Hey, Rory. Coffee?" He held up the pot.  
  
"Yup." I nodded and watched him as he filled the ceramic mug. "How are you?"  
  
"Oh, the same. Nothing exciting here." He smiled half-heartedly and noticed my dejected face. "You okay?"  
  
I nodded and proceeded to sip my coffee. I saw him flash me a concerned glance, but I just smiled and nodded. It's not like he would actually just sit there and listen to my problems anyway, I doubt that he would close up just to hear me complain. Deep in thought, I stared blankly into my coffee. By the time I looked up from my little world of staring, I noticed that the diner was closed and that there was a donut in front of me. Even though I was in a sad mood, I felt my lips curl into a small smile and when I saw Luke come out of the storage room, I flashed him a grateful grin.  
  
I bit into the donut hungrily, considering I haven't really been eating much lately.  
  
Through swallows, I managed to mumble a happy "Thank-you" to him.  
  
He turned to face me. "No problem." He sat down on his stool behind the counter and watched me as I ate. "You okay?" He asked me for a second time.  
  
"I'm still breathing." I answered sullenly, but continued to smile. Don't ask why, I really don't know.  
  
"Well, that's always a good sign." He smiled and poured more coffee into my mug. "But that's not what I meant."  
  
I sighed deeply and nodded. "I know."  
  
"Where's your mom?" He asked me, looking down at his lap.  
  
"Out with Mike." I told him, rolling my eyes. "Ugh, he makes me sick."  
  
"Like a hurling kind of sick?"  
  
"Precisely." I nodded in agreement.  
  
"Yeah, he has that effect on everyone." Luke said, looking displeased at the mentioning of the infamous Mike.  
  
"You know him?" I was surprised.  
  
"Not really, he's been in here a few times. Very stuck-up. Very boring." He sighed and started wiping the counter, where I had accidentally spilled a little coffee.  
  
I just shook my head. "I really don't understand what my mom sees in him, but if she's happy then I guess I'll just deal with his incredibly annoying presence." I cringed angrily at the thought of him and his stupid self.  
  
"Have you told your mom about any of these thoughts?"  
  
"Not really, I guess I'm too chicken." I glanced at my watch and got up from the wooden stool. "I gotta go, see you tomorrow, Luke." I grinned and left the diner, feeling a little bit better. Okay, fine. I'm happy, so shoot me. I never really realized how nice Luke really was, but then again, I never actually had a real conversation with him. When I reached my house, I saw Mike's shimmering, new Lexus parked in our driveway. Drawing a pained sigh from my body, I sat helplessly on the curb, silently wishing for my old life to return to me.  
  
To be continued......  
  
************************************************************************ 


	2. Lorelai

Seasons of Love  
  
By Fiana Muhlberger  
  
A/N - This chapter is told from Lorelai's POV. Thanks for the reviews! This is a very short chapter, but I promise that the next one will be MUCH longer! :)  
  
  
  
Seasons of Love  
  
Chapter 2 - Lorelai  
  
  
  
What happened this morning? One minute I was talking about the color of my shirt then all of a sudden Rory flips out on me for no apparent reason. No, there must have been a reason because this is Rory we're talking about here. Sweet, calm, good-natured Rory. She must've been mad at me for a reason. Hmmm, maybe she was still upset over Dean? Nah. I was more upset over the break-up then she was. I think I let myself get too carried away with their relationship. I mean, I think I actually liked him more then she did. Oh man, that's too weird. That's not Lorelai Gilmore, that's Emily Gilmore. What was I thinking? I mean, that is so not me. I kept pushing her too much, making her think that Dean was 'the perfect guy' instead of thinking about what she really wanted. Okay, so maybe that's why she was mad. Ugh, I don't know what to do. Rory and I have been drifting apart so much lately and that scares me. You know I love her more then anything in the whole world, I mean, she's everything to me and I've just been blowing it. As I watched Mike's car pull out of the driveway and roll down the dark street, I thought about tonight. Tonight was awful. I thought it would be great, but it wasn't. Mike and I had a huge fight, really bad. He's never going to speak to me again. I walked over to the window when I heard some quiet footsteps and looked out onto the porch. I smiled faintly when my eyes fell on Rory, sulking on our swing. I sighed to myself and pulled on my faded, jean jacket and stepped out onto the porch.  
  
"Hey, maybe you should come inside, it's warmer. Unless, your strangely into the whole frostbite thing, then I know a good phsychiatrst." I said and sat down beside her.  
  
She sniffled and turned to face me, looking apologetically into my eyes. "How was your day?" She asked quietly.  
  
"Oh, you know, the same. But, more importantly, how was your day? You left here kinda, um, I don't know-"  
  
"Jerky?" She suggested.  
  
"Well, although there are many other derogatory descriptions that could be used in this circumstance, jerky definitely ranks up in the top ten somewhere, yeah." I grinned, letting her know that it was okay.  
  
"I'm sorry." She whispered and snuggled her body into my side, where I held her close to me.  
  
"It's okay." I kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back gently before standing up. "Wanna come inside and have some coffee? I bought marshmallows. Now, I know your thinking 'coffee and marshmallows? Has she gone completely insane?' Ah, yes, but my dear, this is no ordinary coffee. This is the 'Chock Full 'o Nuts Deluxe Chocolate Cream Blend'. It tastes remarkably like hot chocolate, but yet, has the same caffeinated -y goodness that only coffee can provide."  
  
"You need to breathe more." Rory smiled and wiped her tears away. "Sure, but only if you try it first. I don't wish to be poisoned tonight by that hot-chocolate/coffee crossover nonsense."  
  
"Deal." I grinned and breathed in a sigh of relief as we both made our ways into the house.  
  
That night, I watched Rory fall asleep on our couch. She was so peaceful as she slept, just rhythmically breathing....so happy. I told her about the fight Mike and I had and she pretended to be sorry. I knew she really didn't like him though, I could tell. How could I blame her? He was always nudging her out of the way, never even bothering to say hello to her. Never caring about anything. I would've broken up with him anyway, regardless of the fight. Tonight was nice though, me and Rory hanging out together. That hasn't happened in a while considering her distant mood lately. I wonder what she's been thinking about. Well, I know she's been worried about Luke and me, always trying to make me go into the diner. I want to, I really do, but something keeps stopping me. I don't know what it is. You know what I really want? I want to just be able to walk into the diner, tell Luke how sorry I am, and move on with my life. I want to be his friend again, the person who he could laugh with and talk to. I miss him more then I let people know of. I look happy all of the time, pretending that I don't care. But, I do care. I wish this whole 'Jess thing' never happened. I mean, for years, Luke and I never had any fights, then all of a sudden Jess comes and we have two really huge fights. It's awful how I let him come between us. Damn me. I wish I could, like, turn back time and have all of this nonsense go away. If I could, I would never have said the things I said and never would've done the things I did. After a few sighs, I kissed Rory's cheek and walked upstairs to bed.  
  
"Mom, get up! I'm gonna be late for school." Rory yelled as she came charging into my bedroom.  
  
"Mmmm, just ten more minutes." I mumbled, half-asleep, pulling the blankets safely over my head to prove my point. I just hate mornings.  
  
"No, now." She pulled me up, out from underneath the covers, as I whimpered  
  
like a baby being taken out of it's beloved crib.  
  
After I dressed myself and brushed my hair, I went downstairs into the kitchen where I saw Rory making some coffee.  
  
"What are you doing?" I asked her as if the act of making coffee was completely incredulous.  
  
"Um, I'm making coffee." She pointed toward the pot and smiled.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because we like coffee. Remember?" She eyed me curiously and poured herself a cup.  
  
"You mean we're not going to Luke's?" I asked her with a sly smile peeking out from behind my lips.  
  
Her eyes slowly widened. "Luke's? But I thought-"  
  
I patted her shoulder. "C-mon, mommy's leaving." I smiled and walked past her, out the door, Rory and her shocked expression trailing not too far behind me.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
To be continued.... 


End file.
